Random thoughts and TJ takes

When the incumbent president is a republican, gas at the pump will historically go down just before an election. This year was no different. There was no great new discovery of oil, there was no surge in supply from OPEC, the national reserves weren't tapped into . . .Oh no, just for some strange reason, Gas began falling form $4 a gallon to well below $2 a gallon. Well after all those "speculators" on Wall Street made their investment profits. Then those very same people received a 750 billion dollar hand out from the American tax payer. Thanks to a gutless bunch of politicians with millions invested on . . ."wait for it" . . . Wall Street! The bailout was less about financial institutions that are too big to fail and more about saving our Senators and Congress men's savings and investments. Let's see the bail out funded by the middle class could have only been sold to them by terrific con men.

The con began when companies no longer offered secured retirement pensions, (you remember those, many of your grandfather's enjoyed them and had plenty of money to live on after retirement.) Then the 401k was sold to the workers in place of the pensions. These were more liquid and if you changed jobs you could roll it over into your new companies 401k plan. Sounds good doesn't it? What companies neglected to tell their employees was that the 401K's helped build investment institutions capital base and company owner's, board members, and CEO's were all invested in these institutions. What a deal for the wealthiest of us! Not only did get to save money by not writing pension checks but, they could make money on employee savings. It was only by the grace of God, Buddha, Allah, Ganesha, or Zeus that Social Security didn't get privatized and go the way of the pension plan.

401k's and the inventions of Ira accounts are schemes to get the average Joe to invest in the market. When something isn't broke why fix it? I'll tell you why, greater profit! Period. Now we find the poor guy trying to save for retirement loosing 40% of his savings while the people investing those savings are the beneficiaries of billions of tax payer dollars. It's genius really. Evil greedy genius but, genius none the less. Selling unsecured investments that could easily loose money and did, to an entire working population. Wow! Not even the Mafia in it's hay day could boast this much corruption, extortion, and inside jobs. Money that was meant to buy bad assets and open up lines of credit merely went to fund bank mergers, pay CEO bonuses, and buy corporate Jets. Oh yeah, I forgot they did buy some bad assets . . .at nearly twice as much as they were worth!

Remember McCain and Palin's slogan, "Country First". It's funny how those who say that are the very same ones who oppose tariffs and the part of the recovery package that insists we only use building materials made in the USA. These very same people want to allow companies receiving money to hire workers from overseas and bring them here instead of hiring our very own unemployed. "Country First" my ass. That slogan should be "Profit First".

Here's a Jefferson quote those on the left are fond of: "A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." Notice he uses the word "against" letting citizens of a government know that they are in a conflict, competition or a battle even, and the Bill of Rights is more or less a weapon.

Here's one for those on the Right: "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." If Rush and Hannity did a little research before they start flapping their gums they could use this quote to knock the whole "We need more government regulation"argument right out of the park.

Here's one I like: "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine." Are you listening Prop 8 proponents?! That's why civil rights are not up for a majority vote! Jesus H tap dancing Christ . . .with "jazz hands"!

Our fore fathers, like the Romans before them feared the 51% and didn't think it was a good idea to give the unwashed, uneducated masses too much power or "say" in their own governing so, they devised something called a representative democracy. The unwashed and uneducated could vote for someone they felt best looked after their interests. Just in case that individual didn't stay true to his constituency, we have the three separate branches as a sort of check and balance. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. No one branch has controls the power. No one branch nor one party, however it may not be that way anymore.

Over the past 6 years the Judicial (the Supreme Court) had two new appointees, both staunch conservatives, giving the deciding vote to Head Justice Roberts. Justice Roberts, according to a 16-page financial disclosure form Roberts submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his net worth was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in stock holdings. I don't have a problem with Roberts earning a 6 million his 50th birthday, but I do have a problem with the fact that he held positions in Republican administrations in the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of the White House Counsel. He's a wealthy Republican insider that has defended big business on several occasions when he was a practicing attorney.

And most recently upheld Exxon's right to gouge billions in profits from the very people whose tax dollars subsidize that company. Let me just wrap this one up with one more Jefferson quote: "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.

"DaG Out

Copy and paste entry

When someone speaks eloquently and sums up my thoughts exactly pointing out the hypocrasy and evil in those who govern us, I must simply let their words speak for themselves. From last nights special comment on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

Vice President Cheney's remarks about the prospects of future terrorist attacks in this country. Flatly, it may be time for Mr. Cheney to leave this country. The partisanship, divisiveness and naiveté to which he ascribed every single criticism of his and President Bush's delusional policies of the last eight years, have now roared forth in a destructive and uninformed diatribe from Mr. Cheney, that can only serve to undermine the nation's new president, undermine the nation's effort to thwart terrorism, and undermine the nation itself.
Mr. Cheney's remarks were posted yesterday at Politico.com. They are a reiteration of all the manias of his vice presidency. Only they now come without the authority of office. They insist, he insists, on the imminence of attack, of the maintenance of Gitmo, of the necessity of waterboarding, of the efficacy of torture.Time does not stale nor custom wither your infinite variety, Mr. Cheney. You will say it, and be wrong and you will still say it anew. You will say it, and undercut a President 17 days on the job and you will still say it anew. You will say it, and help terrorists and you will still say it anew.

Cheney said "The United States needs to be not so much loved as it needs to be respected. Sometimes, that requires us to take actions that generate controversy. I'm not at all sure that that's what the Obama administration believes."

The first glimmer, in years, of sanity in any your remarks, Sir. That's not at all what the Obama administration appears to believe. It seems to be ready to use all avenues and all emotions, seeking love, respect, fear, diplomacy, shared experience, education, principle, and, yes, even rational thought. This President, unlike yours, seems intent on living in the real world rather than trying to re-shape an imaginary one, by force.
Cheney goes on "When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an al-Qaida terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry."

More concerned, Mr. Cheney? What delusion of grandeur makes you think you have the right to say anything like that? Because a president, or an ordinary American, demands that we act as Americans and not as bullies; demands that we play by our rules; that we preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States; you believe we have chosen the one and not the other? We can be Americans, or we can be what you call "safe" — but not both?
Cheny: "If it hadn't been for what we did — with respect to the terrorist surveillance program, or enhanced interrogation techniques for high-value detainees, the Patriot Act, and so forth — then we would have been attacked again. Those policies we put in place, in my opinion, were absolutely crucial to getting us through the last seven-plus years without a major-casualty attack on the U.S."

Mr. Cheney, you are lying. As the cloud of fear you deliberately fostered in this good-hearted and courageous nation finally begins to dissipate, the nonsense that you and Mr. Bush presented as "evidence" of this childish claim, this perverse example of wishful-nightmare-thinking, has become apparent, and it should shame you.
The "major-casualty attacks" on the U.S. you think you stopped, involved would-be hijackers who were under constant surveillance and had neither passports nor plane tickets. They involved feeble-minded braggarts so clueless as to even the most obvious steps of organization that they believed they could enter Fort Dix in New Jersey disguised as delivery men, and kill hordes of Americans, and get out alive, even though Fort Dix teems with soldiers who have an almost inexhaustible supply of weapons.They involved embittered ex-Airport-employees so uninformed about where they used to work, that they thought dropping a match in a fuel supply line thirty miles away would cause the airport to explode. These are the plots that by your own proud, strutting, crazy admissions, were the ones you "got us through."You and Mr. Bush, sir—you are the old men who cried wolf.

The Politico story continues: "Citing intelligence reports, Cheney said at least 61 of the inmates who were released from Guantanamo during the Bush administration - "that's about 11 or 12 percent" - have "gone back into the business of being terrorists."

Mr. Cheney, you made this statistic up. Perhaps not you personally, but your people made this statistic up! As the new reality-based administration has discovered, there are not enough records of detainees still at Gitmo to suggest that there is any reliable database on those released. That McCarthy-esque number, Sir, is also as fluid as the infamous Senator's was.
As Professor Mark Denbeaux of Seton Hall University noted on this network last month: "The government has given its 43rd attempt to describe the number of people who have left Guantanamo and returned to the battlefield. Forty-one times they have done it orally as they have this last time. And their numbers have changed from 20 to 12 to seven to more than five to two to a couple to a few - 25, 29, 12 to 24. Every time, the number has been different. In fact, every time they give a number, they don't identify a date, a place, a time, a name or an incident to support their claim."

Mr. Cheney, which orifice are you pulling these numbers from? Y'know, in the movie "The Manchurian Candidate," the character based loosely on Joe McCarthy had trouble remembering all the different numbers. His Lady Macbeth-like-wife pointed out to him that the reason she kept changing the number of purported communists in the state department, was so that people would no longer be asking "are there communists in the state department?" but would begin only asking "how many communists are there?"
And, six years and more since General Powell, and Dr. Rice, and all the rest, played the trump card of terrorizing this nation, the mighty Cream of Mushroom Cloud soup, you played it again... nuclear weapon, biological agent, deaths of perhaps hundreds of thousands.

Cheney continues his rhetoric of fear: "I think there's a high probability of such an attempt. Whether or not they can pull it off depends whether or not we keep in place policies that have allowed us to defeat all further attempts, since 9/11, to launch mass-casualty attacks against the United States."

"The Bush System," as John Yoo so aptly re-christened it the other day. Start the wrong war, detain the wrong people, employ the wrong methods, pursue the wrong leads, utilize the wrong emotions. Beat up first, ask questions later. You know, just like Al-Qaeda does, or Iran. Save this nation from terrorists by doing the terrorists' work for them, Mr. Cheney. To your credit, sir, you have added a new monster under a new bed, to try to continue to foment a national policy of panic. It's the Terrorists-on-our-streets ploy.

Cheney: "Is that really a good idea to take hardened al-Qaida terrorists who've already killed thousands of Americans and put 'em in San Quentin or some other prison facility where they can spread their venom even more widely than it already is?"

As opposed to keeping them in an extra-legal facility mixed in with some unknown number of innocents mistaken for terrorists. Who's likelier to be more influenced by terrorist venom, Mr. Cheney? The characters from the TV series "Oz?" Or a bunch of guys who we're holding in chains without trial and without even some token attempt at rehabilitation? And by the way, what about Ahmed Ressam, sir? Benni Noris, if you prefer. The Millennium Bomber. Caught at a ferry crossing from Canada to Washington State in December, 1999, on his way to blow up Los Angeles International Airport. He had a car, a legit passport, nitroglycerin, and timing devices. And what did we do to him, Mr. Cheney? Did we send him to Gitmo? Or Pre-Gitmo? As "high a value" terrorist as ever we've caught in this country. Trained by Abu Zubaydah. Days away from his target and ready to go. We tried him. In U.S. courts. With U.S. lawyers. Part of the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. He got 22 years in U.S. prisons.No torture, no Gulag, no stories of him proselytizing fellow prisoners. Oh, but he did cooperate long enough to tell prosecutors about al-Qaida cells in this country.That was his info they stuck in the President's Daily Brief of August 6th, 2001. That's probably news to you, since obviously you and Mr. Bush didn't read it, stalking Saddam Hussein as you were. Of course, none of that mattered to Mr. Cheney, just as none of this matters to Mr. Cheney. Because, at heart, Mr. Cheney is not interested foremost in protecting this country. He is interested foremost in protecting Mr. Cheney. And the business of being Dick Cheney, of rationalizing one's own existence after one of the most reprehensible, myopic, unprincipled, and even un-American careers in the history of our government, depends on continuing to convince the gullible of us to live in abject fear and not with vigilance and common sense and principles.We, sir, will most completely assure our security not by maintaining the endless, demoralizing, draining, life-denying blind fear and blind hatred which you so thoroughly embody.
We will most easily purchase our safety by repudiating the "Bush System." We will reserve the violence for which you are so eager, Sir, for any battlefield to which we truly must take, and not for unconscionable wars which people like you goad and scare and lie us into.You, Mr. Cheney, you terrified more Americans than did any terrorist in the last seven years, and now it is time for you to desist, or to be made to desist. With damnable words like these, Sir, you help no American, you protect no American, you serve no American — you only aid and abet those who would destroy this nation from within or without. More than 400 years ago, when a British Parliament attempted to govern after its term had expired, it was dispersed by the actions, and words, of Oliver Cromwell."You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately," he told them — exactly as, Mr. Cheney, exactly as a nation now tells you: "Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. "In the name of God… go!"

Thank you Mr. Olbermann.

DaG Out

How we become competitive in the world market

Very simply two words: National Healthcare. Universal single payer healthcare saves employers companies and employees money, improves productivity, creates jobs, and allows the United States to once again be competitive as a manufacturer in the World economy.
In 2008, employer health insurance premiums increased by 5.0 percent – two times the rate of inflation. The annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $12,700. The annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,700.2
Nationalized health insurance would allow US based companies to once again be competitive in the world market. Workers are now paying $1,600 more in premiums annually for family coverage than they did in 1999.

Since 1999, employment-based health insurance premiums have increased 120 percent, compared to cumulative inflation of 44 percent and cumulative wage growth of 29 percent during the same period.

The average employee contribution to company-provided health insurance has increased more than 120 percent since 2000. Average out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, co-payments for medications, and co-insurance for physician and hospital visits rose 115 percent during the same period.

The FDA could sell medicare to small businesses. Big Insurance companies like the way things are now because, it eliminates start up insurance companies from under cutting them. In simple terms those entrepreneurs can not afford health care.

Universal government sponsored healthcare will completely remove all competition from the Healthcare market. There will still be a need for specialized Healthcare insurance for people seeking breast enhancement, nose jobs and tummy tucks. Only those Insurance providers whose main concern is profits for their CEO's and stock holders will be adversely affected. I say that with tongue in cheek because, we know that is all of the Insurance providers. The end result of Universal single payer healthcare will be several Health care insurance providers closing their doors. I guess it's a good thing the national healthcare will create millions of jobs so those poor souls who used to answer phones and mail out those claim denials for Aetna, Blue Cross, United Healthcare, Cigna, Kaiser, etc etc won't have to collect unemployment for too long.

10 Reasons For Enacting a Single Payer Healthcare System

1. Everybody in,nobody out. Universal means access to healthcare for everyone, period. (A larger risk pool makes economic sense. The larger the pool the less the percentage of ill people requiring health care.)
2. Portability. Even if you are unemployed, or lose or change your job, your health coverage goes with you.
3. Uniform benefits. No Cadillac plans for the wealthy and Pinto plans for everyone else,with high deductibles, limited services, caps on payments for care, and no protection in the event of a catastrophe. One level of comprehensive care no matter what size your wallet.
4. Prevention. By removing financial roadblocks, a single payer system encourages preventive care that lowers an individual's ultimate cost and pain and suffering when problems are neglected, and societal cost in the over utilization of emergency rooms or the spread of communicable diseases.
5. Choice of physician. Most private plans restrict what doctors, other caregivers, or hospital you can use. Under a single payer system, patients have a choice, and the provider is assured a fair reimbursement.
6. Ending insurance industry interference with care. Caregivers and patients regain the autonomy to make decisions on what's best for a patient's health, not what's dictated by the billing department or the bean counters. No denial of coverage due to pre-existing conditions or cancellation of policies for "unreported" minor health problems.
7. Reducing administrative waste. One third of every health care dollar goes for paperwork, such as denying care, and profits, compared to about 3% under Medicare, a single-payer, universal system.
8. Cost savings. A single payer system would produce the savings needed to cover everyone, largely by using existing resources without the waste. Taiwan, shifting from a U.S. healthcare model, adopted a single-payer system in 1995, boosting health coverage from 57% to 97%with little if any increase in overall healthcare spending.
9. Common sense budgeting. The public system sets fair reimbursements applied equally to all providers while assuring all comprehensive and appropriate health care is delivered,and uses its clout to negotiate volume discounts for prescription drugs and medical equipment.
10. Public oversight. The public sets the policies and administers the system, not high priced CEOs meeting in secret and making decisions based on what inflates their compensation packages or stock wealth or company profits.

Can all these Union and Labor supporters of single payer healthcare be wrong?
Labor Endorsers of Universal Single Payer Health Care
State Federations of Labor
• Arizona AFL-CIO• Arkansas AFL-CIO• California AFL-CIO• Connecticut AFL-CIO• Delaware State AFL-CIO• Florida AFL-CIO• Indiana State AFL-CIO• Iowa AFL-CIO• Kentucky State AFL-CIO• Maine State AFL-CIO• Maryland State and District of Columbia AFL-CIO• Minnesota AFL-CIO• Missouri AFL-CIO• North Carolina State AFL-CIO• North Dakota AFL-CIO• Ohio AFL-CIO• Oregon AFL-CIO• Pennsylvania AFL-CIO• South Carolina State AFL-CIO• South Dakota AFL-CIO• Tennessee AFL-CIO• Texas AFL-CIO• Vermont State Labor Council AFL-CIO• Washington State Labor Council• West Virginia AFL-CIO• Wisconsin State AFL-CIO• Wyoming State AFL-CIO
National and International Labor Organizations
• Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA)• American Postal Workers Union (APWU)• California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee• Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU)• Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM)• International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE)• International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU)• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)• National Education Association (NEA)• Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)• Phillip Randolph Institute, Detroit, MI• United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing & Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States & Canada (UA)• United Automobile Workers (UAW)• United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE), Pittsburgh, PA
State, Regional, and Local Labor Organizations
• Albany Central Federation of Labor, Albany, NY• Allegheny County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Pittsburgh, PA• Amalgamated Lithographers of America, Graphic Communications• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, Washington, DC• Conference/International Brother of Teamsters (GCC/IBT), Local 1L, New Jersey• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Local 825, River Edge, NJ• Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1589, Long Beach, CA• American Federation of Government Employees Local 2028, Pittsburgh, PA• American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 2779, Gainesville, FL• American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Local 1000, New York, NY• American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 212, Milwaukee, WI• American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 5, St. Paul, Minnesota• American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), District Council 37, New York City, NY• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) District Council 62, Indiana and Kentucky• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 1549, New York, NY• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 2629, Louisville, KY• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Retiree Chapter 36, Los Angeles, CA• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Retiree Chapter 1184, Sub-Chapter 109, Northwest Ohio• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Retired Public Employees’ Council of Washington, Chapter 10• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Retirees Association of District Council 37, New York, NY• American Federation of Teachers, Local 2334, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY, New York City, NY• American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), Chicago/Midwest Region• Ashtabula AFL-CIO Labor Council, Ashtabula, OH• Ashtabula AFL-CIO Retiree Council, Ashtabula, OH• Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local Lodge 794, Albuquerque, NM• Association of Musicians of Greater New York, AFM Local 802, New York, NY• Austin Central Labor Council, Austin, Texas• Beaver-Lawrence Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Beaver, PA• Bergen County Central Trades & Labor Council, Paramus, NJ• Big Sky Central Labor Council, Helena, MT• Boulder Area Labor Council, Boulder, CO• Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Division 4, Rail Conference, IBT, Toledo, OH• Building and Construction Trades Council of St. Louis, AFL-CIO, St. Louis, MO• Burlington County Central Labor Union, Riverside, NJ• Butler County United Labor Council, Butler, PA• California State Pipe Trades Council, United Association, AFL-CIO, Sacramento, CA• Capital District Area Labor Federation, Albany, NY• Central Connecticut Labor Council, Meriden, CT• Central Maine Labor Council, Waterville, ME• Central New Mexico Labor Council, Albuquerque, NM• Central New York Labor Council, Utica, NY• Central Ohio Labor Council, Columbus, OH• Central Trades & Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Cape Girardeau, MO• Champlain Valley Labor Council, Burlington, VT• Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board, UNITE HERE, Chicago, IL• Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council, Cincinnati, OH• Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, Cleveland, OH• Cleveland AFL-CIO Retiree Council, Cleveland, OH• Cleveland Painters District Council 6 Retiree Council, Cleveland, OH• Committee of Presidents, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 1120, Poughkeepsie, NY• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 1180, New York, NY• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 2222, Annandale, VA• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 3106, Jacksonville, FL• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 3310, Louisville, KY• Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 6355, Missouri State Workers Union• Community Action Program (CAP), 3rd & 4th Areas, (UAW), Kentucky,• Community Action Program (CAP), (UAW), Southern Indiana, Local 619, Louisville, KY• Connecticut State Council of Machinists of the IAMAW, CT• CIRSU, New York, NY• Dayton, Springfield, Sidney, Miami Valley AFL-CIO Regional Labor Council, Dayton, OH• Duluth (Minnesota) AFL-CIO Central Labor Body• Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (IBEW)• Essex-West Hudson Labor Council AFL-CIO, Newark, NJ• Florida State Alliance for Retired Americans, Lodge 721, IAM, Jacksonville, FL• Graphic Communications Conference, GCC/IBT, Local 546M, Cleveland, OH• Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council, Bangor, ME• Greater Glens Falls Central Labor Council, Glens Falls, NY, Warren, Washington, Hamilton, and Northern Saratoga Counties• Greater Green Bay Labor Council, Green Bay, WI• Greater Hartford Central Labor Council, Hartford, CT• Greater Lansing Labor Council, Lansing, MI, Feb. 7, 2007• Greater Louisville Building & Construction Trades Council, Louisville, KY• Greater Louisville Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Louisville, KY, April 2006.• Greater Madison County Federation of Labor, Granite City, IL• Greater St. Louis Labor Council, AFL-CIO, St. Louis, Missouri• Greater Westmoreland County Labor Council, Greensburg, PA• Harrisburg Region Central Labor Council, Harrisburg, PA• Hawkeye Labor Council, Cedar Rapids, IA• Hudson County Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, Jersey City, NJ• Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation, Newburgh, NY• Independent State Store Union (ISSU) Harrisburg, PA• International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 477, Miami, FL• International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 524, Glen Falls-Saratoga, NY• International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE), New York City, Westchester and Putnam Counties• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Washington State Machinist Council, District 160, Seattle, WA• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), CANEL Lodge 700 Pratt & Whitney, Higganum, CT• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), District 26, Connecticut & Rhode Island• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), District Lodge 34, Columbus, OH• International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), District Lodge 112, Jacksonville, FL• International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Local Lodge 141, representing airline workers at Northwest, United, Southwest, and Alaska. Detroit, MI• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Local Lodge 621, Ashland, WI• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Greyhound Lodge 759, Jacksonville, FL• International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Local Lodge 956 Archbold, OH• International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Pittsburgh Airman Lodge 1044, Pittsburgh, PA• International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Lodge 1145, Selkirk and DeWitt, NY• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Local Lodge 1502, Superior, WI• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2313, Hanover, MA• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2222, Boston, MA. Representing 4000 Verizon workers in the Greater Boston area.• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2320, Manchester, NH• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2321, North Andover, MA• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2322, Middleboro, MA• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2323, Cranston, RI• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2324, Springfield, MA• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2325, Northborough, MA• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2326, Essex Junction, VT• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 2327, Augusta, ME• International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Local 559, South Windsor, CT• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 17, Seattle, WA• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 194, Milltown, NJ• International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 547, Detroit, MI• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), District Council 1, Denver, CO• International Union of Painters & Allied Trades District Council 4, Cheektowaga, NY• Jackson/Hillsdale Counties Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Jackson, MI• Jefferson County Teachers’ Association (NEA), Louisville, KY• Kentucky Jobs with Justice, Louisville, KY• Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), Local 327, August, ME• Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 576, Louisville, KY• Laborers’ International Union of North American Retirees’ Council (LIUNA), Local 576, Louisville, KY• Lorain County AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, Lorain, OH• Maine Council of United Steelworkers (USW)• Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council, Clinton, ME• Massachusetts Nurses Association, Quincy, MA• Massachusetts State CAP Council, United Auto Workers (UAW)• Mercer County Central Labor Council, Mercer County, NJ• Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO Central Labor Council• Michigan State Association of Letter Carriers, MSALC, NALC• Michigan State AFL-CIO Women's Council• Middlesex County AFL-CIO Labor Council, North Brunswick, NJ• Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), St Paul, MN• Missouri Nurses Association (MONA), District 3, St. Louis, MO• Monongalia-Preston Labor Council, Morgantown, WV• Monroe/Lenawee County AFL-CIO Council, Monroe, MI• National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET)/Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 21, Albany, NY• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 82, Portland, OR• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 84, Pittsburgh, PA• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 104, Lawrence, KS• National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 3126, Royal Oak, MI.• New Jersey State Industrial Union Council, Edison, NJ• New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU), New York, NY• New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), New York• North Bay Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Santa Rosa, CA• North Central Florida Central Labor Council, Gainesville, FL• North Florida Central Labor Council, Jacksonville, FL• Northeast Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, Franklin, Clinton, & Essex Counties, Plattsburgh, NY• Northeastern Oklahoma Central Labor Council, Tulsa, OK• Northern Kentucky Central Labor Council, Covington, KY• Northern Virginia Central Labor Council, Annandale, VA• Northwest Indiana Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Hammond, IN• North West Washington Central Labor Council, Bellingham, WA• Nurses Professional Organization (CNA/NNOC), Louisville, KY• Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA)• Ohio State Legislative Board, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET)• Ohio Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)• Organization of Staff Analysts (OSA/RT), New York, NY• Palm Beach-Treasure Coast AFL-CIO, Riviera Beach, FL• Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, Energy International Union (PACE) Local 5-2002, Louisville, KY• Passaic Central Labor Council, Clifton, NJ• Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), Conshohocken, PA• Philadelphia Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Philadelphia, PA• Pierce County Central Labor Council, Tacoma, WA• Pima Area Labor Federation, Tucson, AZ• Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council, Springfield, MS• Pittsburgh Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), Pittsburgh, PA• Plumbers and Pipefitters, United Association, Local 9, Englishtown, NJ• Plumbers and Pipefitters, United Association, Local 409, San Luis Obispo, CA• Plumbers and Steamfitters HVAC, Local 188, United Association, Savannah, GA.• Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Refrigeration Fitters, Local 393, San Jose, CA.• Professional, Scientific and Technical employees at the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.• PEF/encon Albany Steward Council (Public Employees Federation/encon)• Retirees Council, Bergen County Central Trades and Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Paramus, NJ• Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Rochester, NY• Rochester and Vicinity Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Rochester, NY• St. Joe Valley Project Jobs with Justice, South Bend, IN• San Antonio AFL-CIO Council, San Antonio, TX• San Bernardino/Riverside Counties Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, Riverside, CA• San Francisco Central Labor Council, San Francisco, CA• San Francisco Web Pressmen & Prepress Workers Union Local 4N• San Mateo County Central Labor Council, Foster City, CA• Santa Clara & San Benito Counties Building & Construction Trades Council, San Jose, CA• Savannah Regional Central Labor Council, Savannah, GA• Service Employees International Union, District 1199P, Harrisburg, PA• Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 3, Pittsburgh, PA• Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 73, Chicago, IL• Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 668, Harrisburg, PA• Sheet Metal Workers, Local 36, St. Louis, Missouri• Smith County Central Labor Council, Tyler, TX• Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Albany, NY• South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, San Jose, CA• South Central Federation of Labor, Madison, Wisconsin• Southeast Missouri Building and Construction Trades Council, Cape Girardeau, MO• Southern Dakota County Labor Council, Apple Valley, MN• Southern Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Ottumwa, IA• Southern Maine Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Portland, ME Oct. 4, 2006• Southwestern District Labor Council, Huntington, WV• Southwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council, Collinsville, IL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 9-36 F 5, Cape Coral, FL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 9-ABG 1, Kingsport, TN• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 9-UR 1, Harvest, AL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 9-UR 7, Hickman, KY• Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), Chapter 11-3, St. Louis, MO.• Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), Chapter 20-20, Aliquippa, PA• Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 30-18, Plymouth, Indiana• Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 31-9, Chicago, IL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 36-1, Gadsden, AL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter 36-2, Gardendale, AL• Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR) Chapter Local 200 Retirees, Iuka, MS• Theatrical Protective Union (TPU) Local One• Texas Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) Austin, TX• Texas State Employees Union/Communications Workers of America, (TSEU/CWA), Local 6186, Austin, TX, September, 2006• Toledo Area AFL-CIO Council, Toledo, OH• Toledo Area Jobs with Justice, Toledo, OH• Transport Workers Union (TWU), Local 264, New York, NY• Transport Workers Union (TWU), Local 561, Virginia Gardens, FL• Tri-County Council of Labor, AFL-CIO, Henderson, KY• Troy Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Troy, NY• Unified Union Partners• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing Plumbers and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA), Local Union 17, Memphis, TN• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA), Local Union 295, Daytona Beach, FL• United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Plumbers, Pipefitters and Service Technicians Local 502, Louisville, KY• United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters (UAPS), Local 50, Northwood, OH• United Association of Plumbers & Steamfitters (UAPS), Local Union 136, Evansville, IN• United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, Local 630, West Palm Beach, FL• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 544, Fisher Body, West Mifflin, PA• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 848, Retirees Club, Grand Prairie, TX• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 862, Louisville, KY• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 909, Detroit, MI• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 1155, Birmingham, AL• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local Union 1183, Newark, DE• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 2164, Bowling Green, KY• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 2320, Chicago, IL• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 2322, Holyoke, Massachusetts• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 6000, Michigan State Employees, Lansing, MI• United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 6000, State of Michigan Employees, Region 1A, Retiree Chapter• United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC), Local 28, Missoula, MT• United Electrical Workers, Local 506, Erie, PA• United Healthcare Workers East (SEIU), 1199, MD, DC, NY State, MA, New York, NY• United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU), Oakland, CA• United Labor Council of Reading and Berks County, Reading, PA• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 675, Carson, CA• United Steelworkers (USW), District 7, Sub-District 1, Chicago, IL• United Steelworkers (USW), District 7, Sub-District 4, Northern Indiana• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 2-591, Riverview, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local Union 176, Rochester, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 196, Trenton, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local Union 314, Detroit, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local Union 389, Detroit, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 829, Owosso, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 995, Follansbee, WV• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 12-593, Magna, UT• United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1375, Warren, OH• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 1636, Aurora, IL• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 1693, Louisville, KY• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 1899, Granite City, IL• United Steelworkers (USW), Local Union 2659, Southgate, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 5668, Ravenswood, WV• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 6787, Burns Harbor, IN• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 8498, Winston-Salem, NC• United Steelworkers (USW), Local Union 9491, Hamburg, MI• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 9777, Bridgeview, IL• United Steelworkers (USW), Local 12775, Portage, Indiana• United Steelworkers (USW), Region X Spring Conference, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota• United Steelworkers (USW), Regional Council, District 12, Reno NV• United University Professions, Local 2190 AFT, New York State United Teachers, Albany, NY• Utah Jobs With Justice (JwJ)• Wabash Valley Central Labor Council, Terre Haute, IN, Sep. 20, 2006• Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech), (CWA), Local 37083, Seattle, WA• Washington County Central Labor Council, Kewaskum, Slinger, Fond du Lac, WI• Washington-Orange-Lamoille Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Montpelier, VT• Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans• Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, Olympia, WA• West Central Florida Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Tampa, FL, Oct. 3, 2006• West Virginia Brooke-Hancock Central Labor Council, Newell, WV• Western Connecticut Central Labor Council, Waterbury, CT• Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council, Paducah, KY• Western Maine Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, Lewiston, ME• Western Maryland Central Labor Council, Cumberland, MD• Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation of Central Kansas, Wichita, KS• White River Central Labor Council, Bloomington, IN

Game, set, and match.

Call your representative and tell them to promote H.R. 676
Call Congressman James Clyburn and ask him to whip his colleagues for H.R. 676: (202) 225-3315.
Call your own Congress Member and ask them to cosponsor and promote H.R. 676: (202) 224-3121.
These are free calls on your cell phone.

DaG Out

All for None and None for all!!

Compromise. Whoa! What is it good for? Absolutely nuthin'! Say it again!
Here we go again. Obama's attempt to reach out (several times) was met with unanimous negativity by the Repubs. It only succeeded in watering down an aggressive Recovery package full of infrastructure and educational investment. A bill that would create millions of Jobs. No, it isn't perfect but, what coming out of Washington is? With the repubs screaming for more tax cuts (and voting against a bill that includes the largest tax cut in history! It just goes to working people and not those who receive money via dividends and stock options) we are further away from bi-partisan ism than even during the Bush years. Why won't the media point that out? Oh sorry, I know why. I just forget sometimes. What's truly sad is most of us are oblivious to what is about to happen. Just because the Super Bowl will kick off on Sunday and gasoline is under 2 bucks a gallon, we're are being lulled into a false sense of security. Over 70,000 jobs lost in one day! Bloody Monday came and went with no real attention being paid. we lost millions of jobs over the past year and many more are on the horizon. The impact won't be felt for another 6 months or so but, believe me it will be felt. Once your unemployment has run out, your credit cards are maxed, and your mortgage is due. You'll stop going out to eat and the bicycle will make a big comeback.

So, it's time to use the Nuclear option. F*#k 'em! If they want to filibuster something. Let them go at it. What confounds my sensibilities is why the Dems didn't use the power of the filibuster when they were the minority? It was available to them. The Repubs didn't have 60 votes to stop one. What the F**k? It seems to me that the Dems were content to paint themselves as the "poor poor pitiful victims" of big bully Repubs, powerless to stop the objectionable policies of the Bush administration. Oh well, back to my solution for the current obstruction situation: Let the Repubs filibuster so we can get on record their objections to Democratic economic strategies and listen to them try to defend their failed Republican policies for hours on end. We need extensive media coverage of these filibusters so the American public can become aware of the Right's attempt to stall much needed reinvestment programs. Along with this Pulosi and Reed need to bring to the floor an amendment that would lower the votes required to bring closure with 57 votes instead of the current 60. After the Amendment passes, the Dems go balls out! Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

If the aftermath of the proposed Democratic recovery is more jobless, homeless, and bankrupt businesses (like Rush is hoping) then it will be painfully apparent that our government is irreparably broken. A complete enema will be required to save this nation. Every representative currently holding office must be flushed out of the system. A Constitutional convention must be held so that we can update the existing one. Among some of the changes needed are amendments to curb the cancerous influence of lobbyist, campaign contributions, and graft. No longer should we allow propositions that take away one's civil rights by a simple majority vote. (actually I thought that was already protected by the current constitution but, I'm not sure anymore) When those who had the legality of the marriages annulled due to prop 8, it gave me the idea that we should put to a majority vote whether or not water boarding is legal, or whether or not financial institutions that engaged in credit default swapping should receive billions from tax payers, or whether or not our Justice Department should pursue war crimes against Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush.

Something tells me that the results of such a popular vote would show that water boarding is in fact torture, The United States citizens would have billions for infrastructure, health care, and education and Wall Street would have a few less financial institutions (also several billionaires would have to squeak by on only millions) and best of all, the unholy trio would have to lawyer up.

To summarize: We are in a fine mess. It's not solely the fault of the Democrats. It's not solely the fault of the Republicans (although it's mainly their policies that redistribute wealth from the middle class to the upper class) No, the real culprit is Greed. The root of all evil. Since we have evolved (or devolved) to a point where the fittest among us is determined by how much money we can acquire and not by who can run the fastest, hunt and kill the best, or sire the most children, we are left with natural selection choosing those with the largest bank accounts.
Nothing will prevent the approaching Depression. Things can be done to lessen the devastation, but tax cuts are not one of them. A healthy economy is not based on a the wealthiest among us being able to keep a greater percentage of their wealth, or a stocks rising on a well invested Wall Street. A healthy economy is based on a healthy middle class. The middle class are the ones who when they have the money they don't invest it in the market. The middle class spends the money they earn. That is how demand for goods is created and not but supplying the consumer with an over abundance of cheap goods and waiting for them to buy them. ( That's called supply side economics and it's just ridiculous) Jobs jobs jobs and more to the point decent paying jobs jobs jobs is our only chance to survive this class war that has been taking place for 30 years.

DaG Out

In his own words

He's going to live in the next town over. Great. Now, I've got to move because every radical Muslim is going to want to nuke Dallas.
Well well well, we got to watch his supposed final speech to the nation. I don't know what kind of drugs presidents are given but, anything that causes someone to hallucinate and be as delusional as he was last night must be some really good shit.

Let's see, here's some of the highlights:

Summarizing eight — and at times turbulent — years in office, Bush told the country that while his policies have been unpopular, there can be little debate about the results: "America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil." No mention of the lapse in security allowing the first attack.

We have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them. Afghanistan has gone from a nation where the Taliban harbored al-Qaida and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school. Where they risk having acid thrown in their faces by the members of the Taliban we supposedly removed from power but ho have since 2002 regrouped and are better armed than ever.

Iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of America to an Arab democracy at the heart of the Middle East and a friend of the United States. The same brutal dictator that your choice for secretary of defense Rumsfeld, shook hands with. After he gassed 1000's of his enemies and own people with chemical weapons that neo-cons in the Reagan administration sold him. An Arab democracy full of Al-Qaida terrorists, suicide bombers, an infra structure decimated with intermittent electricity and limited supplies of clean water, millions of unemployed, innocent men, women and children killed or maimed by U.S. artillery or religious zealots, etc etc. Great success!

The battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. Under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience and marks unbelievers for murder. The other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of Almighty God, and that liberty and justice light the path to peace. In this statement we can see the great scope of understanding and insight that "W' has acquired. He forgot to tell us that the Almighty God he speaks of is the one true God, all the rest are myths and superstitions.

He adds: When people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. See the Palestinians and their democratically elected Ha mas leadership.

For eight years, we've also strived to expand opportunity and hope here at home. Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. Yes this is true. However, this is due to teachers having to teach to the test. No longer do teachers have the freedom to teach critical thinking skills. Everything is by wrote and memorization. A well rounded education during the first 12 years of academia is all but extinct. Children no nothing of current events or social studies. Furthermore several science, music, and regional history classes are gone. It's much more of an indoctrination than an education.

He told us that his prescription program helped senior citizens better afford the drugs they need. No, sir what you and your accomplices in congress did was not allow medicare to purchase less expensive drugs costing tax payers billions, raising the cost to the patient, and resulting in the largest increase in drug company profits in history. Where's that free market enterprise you guys keep harping on?

Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes. Thank you . . . I guess. Lower taxes contributed to the decay of our infrastructure, turned a surplus into the largest deficit in our country's history, and it's also the first time in history that taxes were reduced during a time of war.

While our nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. So if the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack . . . exactly how are we safer?

America did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. No but our military industrial complex and government's foreign policies did.

America must maintain our moral clarity. I've often spoken to you about good and evil, and this has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two of them there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Moral clarity?! Torture is moral? And yes you speak of good and evil all the damn time! Who are you talking too? 5 year olds?! If murdering the innocent in order to advance an ideology is wrong, then how can "W' rationalize our bombs killing civilians in his attempt to advance the ideology of Democracy?

Bush said he leaves with a "thankful heart." He expressed gratitude to his family. "Above all, I thank the American people for the trust you have given me."
That trust, however, has eroded over the years. His approval rating soared to 90 percent after the Sept. 11 attacks, but he's leaving office as a new Gallup Poll puts it at 34 percent. That's up from 25 percent just before the November elections, reflecting a bump that presidents commonly get just before they leave office.

Yes Mr. Bush you spoke of good and evil often during your presidency in an effort to rally support for you and your cohorts Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and the rest of the neo-con retreads from previous administrations, greedy and power hungry imperialist desires. Let's hope that it's not too late and the damage you've caused can be repaired. Good bye and good riddance!!

DaG Out

This Just in:

BBC news reports:

Australian scientists found the suicide rate in the country increased significantly when a Conservative government was in power.
And an analysis of figures in the UK seems to suggest a similar trend.
The Australian team analysed suicide statistics for New South Wales between 1901, when the federal government was established, and 1998.

They then looked at the political regimes dominating both state and federal governments in New South Wales, which have consistently been under either Labour or Conservative control.
The researchers took into account periods of drought and World War II, because of their economic and psychological impact.

Suicide rates were higher during periods of drought and lower during WWII.
But after adjusting for these factors, the figures clearly showed the highest rates of suicide occurred when both Conservative state and federal governments were in power.

Conversely, the lowest rates occurred when state and federal governments were both Labour.
Middle aged and older people were most at risk.
When the Conservatives ruled both state and federal governments, men were 17% more likely to commit suicide than when Labour was in power. Women were 40% more likely to kill themselves.

Overall, they say, the figures suggest that 35,000 people would not have died had the Conservatives not been in power, equivalent to one suicide for every day of the 20th century or two for every day that the Conservatives ruled. (Since overpopulation contributes to the rapid depletion of natural resources . . . I may have to start voting Republican. )

_________________________________________________

This just in: During the Senate confirmation hearing of Obamas choice for Attorney General:

Eric Holder was asked by Patrick Lahey if water boarding was "torture". Mr. Holder, mentioned that water boarding was defined as torture by the Geneva convention. It was torture when it was used in the Inquisitions, when it was used by the Camir Rouge, and it was considered torture when American soldiers were accused of doing it in Vietnam. So, yes our Attorney General to be says that water boarding is torture. And when he was asked if a president can issue pardons in order to avoid prosecution, Mr Holder said that no one is above the law. I can't confirm this but it has been reported that Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush and several representatives who were briefed about the water boarding of prisoners, collectively shit their pants.

As of late Bush and Cheney have admitted in television interviews to having had knowledge of, giving the go ahead to, and yes even ordering the water boarding of Guantanamo detainees as well as those held in Abu Ghraib. While they both take exception to the term "torture" and only refer to it as , "enhanced interrogation techniques", a rose by any other name . . .

A problem with the confirmation of Holder is that several of the Representatives who will have a vote in his confirmation may very well be under investigation by the justice department Holder will be running. Several of the Senators had knowledge of the torture making them complicit in the crime. Oh what a tangled web we weave . . .

I'd like to challenge these despots to endure one week (not years as they've subjected people to)of their enhanced interrogation techniques. Stress positions that must be held for hours, sleep deprivation brought about by bright lights and high decibel music blasting into your cell, having to endure extreme temperature changes, electric shock and don't forget water boarding. ( After WWII a few Japanese soldiers were convicted of water boarding American PoWs and were subsequently put to death.)

It sickens me that the very country that fought for and helped author the articles in the Geneva convention was taken over by self proclaimed "pro life" politicians who sanctioned torture and through their actions, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of civilians. (Including women and children) Thrusting our country into an illegal war and subsequent occupation because of their greed, sociopathic arrogance, and lies.

General George Washington demanded that every captured British soldier be treated well, even the colonists who were loyal to King George and not the Revolution. The reasoning is two fold: It helps ensure decent treatment of American POWs and taking the moral high ground helps to win hearts and minds.

It isn't revenge I'm looking for rather it's justice. How can we as a country ever be taken seriously by the World's nations if we just look the other way? I know president elect Obama wants to look forward and not dwell on the past but, sweeping the past 7 years under the rug is simply not an option. At the very least a very public record must be made of the accusations of the crimes. Ford was wrong to pardon Nixon. Clinton was wrong to not have pursued Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal. Ignoring these abuses of power only hurts this country and all but encourages future abuses. I doubt seriously that anyone high up will serve a day in a prison, (On the contrary we just prosecuted and imprisoned low ranking service men and women who were following orders and if not for their need to photograph their exploits would have probably been given medals of freedom. Instead their Polaroids turned them into scape goats for Rumsfeld and Cheney.) and it seems very likely that "W" will be granting blanket pardons before he leaves office. The guilty will skate but not without first having to accept a presidential pardon in order to avoid legal action. That in itself is an admission of guilt. So, the international court of law and opinion will have that on the record. It will be fun to see how the Right wing pundits spin those pardons.

DaG Out

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Cutting Taxes Hurts Our Economy.

Here's a lie. Well, more accurately a misleading statement. "When ever an administration cuts taxes the tax revenue goes up." Right wing pundits tell us that as well as staunch conservatives. What is conveniently left out of the statement is the fact that tax revenues have gone up every single year since they were instituted. The reason? As the population continues to grow so does the tax revenue. If you cut taxes, revenue goes up. If you increase taxes revenue goes up. If you leave them alone, revenue goes up. Get it? It's not that the conservative right is lying necessarily, it's just that they aren't giving you all the facts.

So you say, " If you raise taxes on the big corporations' profits, they'll just raise the prices of their goods in order to pay them." Yup, they will a little but, go back and check out the history of annual inflation. Companies raise prices whether or not they are being taxed at a higher rate. Notice that from FDR up until Reagan took office taxes on the rich were very high. When corporations and the wealthy's profits were highly taxed, it caused them to re-invest their profits into their companies. This in turn expanded their businesses, created more jobs, and helped keep our economy healthy. After Reagan's tax cuts Corporations and the very wealthy took their untaxed profits out of their companies, put them into Market speculation and Swiss bank accounts. They did not create jobs or expand their businesses, (at least not in the U.S.) rather they significantly downsized their domestic workforce and exported jobs overseas, ultimately contributing to the decline in our economy. In addition, when corporations and for that matter the middle class get huge tax cuts, we see a decline in workers salaries. Let me explain: If you work for $10 an hour and after taxes you only get $8 an hour. Your employer understands that you will work for $8 an hour if you weren't taxed. So if there is a 20% reduction in taxes your employer would not be a very good business person if he kept you at 10 when he can get people to work that same job for $8. Wages either slowly decrease over a period of time as we've seen in the automobile manufacturing industry, or rapidly decrease by firing and re-hiring workers who will work for less. The middle class takes it in the rear. Welcome to the Milton Friedman's deranged wacky wet dream called Free Market capitalism. That by the by has failed miserably wherever it was put in place. (See Chile during the Pinochet regime)

Now don't misunderstand me, along with taxes comes the responsibility of those with the purse strings to invest in our country. Before everything had to be deregulated and privatized, our government used to invest in our infrastructure. We built sewage systems, schools, Dams, highways, and college education was affordable. We invested in research and development especially in the field of science. Over the past thirty years, the wealthy have reaped the benefits of deregulation and tax cuts while the middle class has been systematically robbed of their wealth by deregulation and tax cuts. By wealth I mean, equity in their home, company sponsored health care, and their pension plans. All of which have all but disappeared and now we find ourselves facing the worst economic times since the last Republican Great Depression.
It was the conservative Republican Herbert Hoover and his robber baron buddies who lowered taxes and deregulated anything and everything allowing mergers and monopolies that threw us into the first depression. It took FDR and his new deal to pull us out of it. He raised taxes and invested in infrastructure that put people back to work. Within a year of instituting some of his programs the unemployment rate went down 9%. That is an astounding figure when you consider that in 1935 unemployment was a staggering 25% in 1933.

Now are Tax and Spend a liberal policies a panacea? No, it isn't perfection. There are still those corrupted politicians who will attach ear marks and practice wasteful spending but IMHO it's a damn sight better than the corporate welfare we're on the hook for now. The amount of tax payer money spent on "Liberal social programs" you know the rant: Welfare mothers, funding for the Arts, etc. etc. All of those combined pale in comparison to the $750 billion + the tax payers are on the hook for so that Billionaires won't loose any of their investments. (FDIC only insures $250,000 of your bank savings. Billionaires have a shit load more than that in their bank.)

JFK pushed through that tax increase to take us back toward FDR/Truman/Eisenhower revenue levels, and we continued to build infrastructure in the US, and even put men on the moon. Health care and college were cheap and widely available. Working people could raise a family and have security in their old age. Every billion dollars (a half-week in Iraq) invested in infrastructure in America created 47,000 good-paying jobs as Americans built America.

Can you imagine how much better off our country would be if over the past 30 years we would have invested in ourselves? Schools, Roads, Power grids, renewable sources of energy,and health care for all citizens, (I can afford my tax obligation if I don't have to spend over $4,000 a year in medical insurance premiums. Duh!)

DaG out